Out of My Comfort Zone
Striding down the long hall of the Mayo Clinic, I passed hurting people on all sides. God knew I wanted my day to be about more than a doctor appointment.
“Okay, Lord. Who?” My book felt sweaty in my hand.
Copy number one went to the sweet lady in a wheelchair. “Oohhh,” she said, pursing fuchsia lips. “Looks wonderful. Thank you, Dear.”
Copy number two returned to me with the cold shoulder of rejection. I kept walking because I couldn’t shake off the possibility that God might still want to do something. Besides, I was stubborn and didn’t want to go home with the book. When I got to the end of the hallway, I discovered I’d inadvertently funneled into a large waiting room.
“Okay, God. What now?”
Doing a three-sixty over a sea of people, I tried to look inconspicuous. Then, with a puff of a prayer, I picked a pleasant-looking lady. She’d be the one. I took a deep breath and plopped myself down with only a chair between us.
After a minute of pretending to read my own book, I cleared my throat. It worked. We made eye contact.
“Hi,” I began. “This may sound strange, but I prayed God would lead me to someone I could bless with this free inspirational book, and I feel it’s you. May I give you this? I wrote it.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, bless you,” she said, glazing with tears. No fanfare, just a simple exchange. I went home happy and bookless.
Two or three weeks went by, and apart from a few imaginations of finding A Friend in the Storm in a thrift shop, I basically forgot about my give-aways. That is, until the moment when I received this heart-stopping email from Sara, a friend I hadn’t talked to for months:
Dear Cheryl,
I talked to my neighbor & friend about 2 weeks ago, Krista Flint. She had an amazing story of being touched by God’s love through a stranger. And that stranger was YOU! It gave me goose bumps to hear of how she had been going through so much and that you sat beside her in the waiting room and gave her your book.
She was so blessed by your words, kindness, & the power of your poems. She said that she knew that God was near, but it was so comforting to hear it from someone! So I wanted you to know that your choice to follow God’s nudge to go to the waiting room and give “someone” your book was exactly what God planned for you & Krista!! It was so exciting to hear how God did that for both of you.
Sara’s P.S. explained that Krista was a breast cancer survivor. Later the same day I gave her my book, she was in a major car accident. Although her car was totaled, she somehow managed to make it through. A Friend in the Storm gave her peace and reminded her that God has a purpose.
“Make use of every opportunity.” Ephesians 5:16
When we ask God to go before us and use us for His glory, He makes a way.
Until heaven, we can’t possibly grasp all the ways God uses us to reach others. We simply rejoice in these glimpses.
Once when I gave a waitress a poem card, she threw her arms around me and burst into tears. The Lord used a simple poem to reach into her heart and start a healing conversation. Don’t you love how the Holy Spirit works behind the scenes?
Another Praise Report!
Fast forward to last week. Some of you know I’d been having a lot of pain and tendonitis in my arms and shoulders. The x-rays showed I had calcium deposits, so the Mayo physician scheduled an outpatient procedure to remove them. Several weeks later when I went in to have the procedure, I didn’t need it because the ultrasound showed the calcium deposits were gone! Clearly an answer to prayer. Thank you, Jesus!
New ~ Kernels of Hope
A few months ago I shared with you a story from my college days - how I brought a Jewish atheist woman from my apartment complex to a Christian meeting where she was miraculously healed! That story released this month in
Kernels of Hope, a faith-building book of miracles. It includes stories about NFL Football, Miss America, World War II, earthquakes, fire, addictions, the mafia and more! God can handle anything!
Kernels represent problems that burst under heat and become breakthroughs! For a glimpse of the stories, watch the
trailer or check out the
website.
Kernels of Hope is now available from
Amazon.com.
Be blessed as you cling to our miracle-working God! Until next time...
xo
Cheryl
P.S. I'm doing another
A Friend in the Storm drawing for first-time signups for my devotional “Fresh Air” blog, so don't forget to
sign up and catch the breeze of encouragement...
I'm offering what may be my last Buy one, Get one
FREE special for
A Friend in the Storm. You never know when you'll need to pull out a fresh copy for a friend. Simply enter the coupon code: GiftSpecial when you
order.
Thanks for your friendship!
